


Waiting in the Wings

by galaxystiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Kissing, M/M, School Play, Temporarily Unrequited Love, drama club
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-03-08 23:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3227324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxystiel/pseuds/galaxystiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Dean and Castiel High School AU where both are involved with the school production of West Side Story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting in the Wings

“From the top guys!” Dean bellowed, gesturing wildly for everyone to clear the stage. There were only four days left of rehearsals until the opening night of the school production of West Side Story and Dean Winchester, the director, was determined everything would be perfect. Everyone began to move to their spots, mostly behind the curtain, leaving behind Benny and Charlie. They were the stars of the performance and Dean was just about to shout out for them to begin when the sounds of squabbling broke out from behind the curtain.

A tick in Dean’s jaw betrayed his annoyance and he was about to threaten a recasting when a deep, gravelly voice rang out.

“Silence! Or I can promise every single one of you that your final costume fitting will be a nightmare, because the only _acting_ you’ll be doing is acting as my personal pin cushion.”

Everyone immediately fell silent, enough that it would have been possible to hear a pin drop, had the costume designer not been so good at his job.

Peering out from behind the curtain, Castiel Novak’s eyes found Dean’s and held his gaze. “I’ve got your back, Dean. Whenever you’re ready.”

Dean cleared his throat. “Right. Thanks, Cas.” He cast a grateful smile in the direction of the Head of the Costume department. Strictly speaking, Castiel wasn’t required again until the final dress rehearsal on the day before the opening night, but he stuck around to give Dean a hand. Not that Dean knew why, it wasn’t like they were friends or anything. He liked Castiel well enough, they just didn’t interact much outside of the drama club. Or at all, really. They only shared one class, and they didn’t even sit together. Dean took the back row, and Castiel sat at the front.

Castiel nodded and disappeared backstage with a final smile at Dean, trying to slow his now-racing heart as he came out into the stalls. Dean nodded to the seat on the other side of him, next to Chuck Shurley, the English student who had amended the script for them. They were sitting where the audience would in a few days’ time, making sure everything was perfect. Which would take a miracle because every rehearsal had been a disaster so far. Dean was just hoping for them to get through opening night with as few hitches as possible.

“And… curtain!” Dean bellowed.

The run-through was perfect. Everything went without a hitch, lines delivered to perfection, costumes intact, scene-switches done promptly. Not a single thing went wrong. Strung from the adrenaline, everyone was hugging and cheering and swarming onto the stage. Dean himself turned to clutch at Castiel in joy, only to make a sound of surprise when a pair of chapped lips covered his own. Caught up in the moment, Dean’s hands gripped Castiel’s hair and he used the leverage to deepen the kiss, responding with an eagerness that surprised him.

There was cheering around them, the sudden volume of which made Dean realised it wasn’t due to the successful run of the play. A wolf-whistle only consolidated his realisation, and he broke apart from Castiel, his cheeks pink.

“Alright, that’s enough,” he snapped at the cast, gesturing for them to get off the stage. “Lunchtime tomorrow for the next rehearsal. Keep up the good work guys.”

One by one, everyone filed off the stage and out through the back to the costume department. Castiel had Anna and Balthazar back there to start helping people out of their costumes, but he needed to head back soon.

“Dean?”

The director turned to look in Castiel’s direction, still reeling from the kiss, which had come out of nowhere.

“I was wondering if you’d like to maybe… go see a movie with me tonight? If you’re not busy.” Castiel had a hopeful look on his face, his big blue eyes soft and innocent.

A harsh laugh escaped Dean’s throat. “Seriously? You kissed me once, and suddenly you think that I want to date you? It was just a kiss, Cas, it changes nothing.”

The words had an instantaneous effect on Castiel, and it was like all the light went out of his eyes. He ducked his head immediately, cheeks stained red from the stinging rejection. “I understand, Dean. If you’ll excuse me, I’m needed backstage.”

He scurried off, and Dean refused to feel guilty until a throat was cleared beside him. Right, he’d forgotten Chuck was still here.

“That was a really dick move, Dean. Don’t forget you kissed him back.” Chuck muttered, sweeping out of the hall and leaving Dean alone.

Maybe he had been a little harsh. But what did the guy expect? They barely spoke outside of the drama club, just the occasional greeting if they passed each other. One kiss meant nothing, Dean wasn’t even all that into guys. They were good to fool around with on occasion, but nothing beat the soft, supple curves of women. No, he wasn’t interested in dating Castiel. Hopefully things could go back to normal now. With that settled in his mind, he picked up his bag and headed home, without sparing Castiel another thought.

 

* * *

He didn’t even think about the kiss again until he arrived at the drama stage at lunchtime. There were a few cold stares, but nothing that he paid any attention to until he realised everyone was still in their regular clothes.

“Hang on, what’s going on? Why aren’t you all in costume?”

Silence met his words. It seemed like nobody knew how to answer the question, until Anna stepped on stage, Balthazar right behind her, both of their gazes stony as they looked at Dean.

“We can’t get into the costume department. Castiel is the only one with the key, and he’s not here.”

Dean blinked in surprise. “Is he sick? Why isn’t he here?”

Balthazar rested a hand on Anna’s shoulder to stop a violent retort. “He said he wasn’t needed again until the final dress rehearsal tomorrow. He won’t be back until then.”

Nonplussed, Dean nodded, thinking no more of it. He supposed it was fair enough, all of the costumes were finished, Castiel just needed to do any minor adjustments on the final dress rehearsal, and then be on hand for wardrobe malfunctions on opening night. But it was strange to settle down in his seat and not have Castiel beside him.

Unlike the previous day, the rehearsal was a complete disaster. Benny forgot his lines and Charlie freaked out when he tried to kiss her, even though the role called for it.

“Alright, stop!” Dean called out, pinching the bridge of his nose, but it went unheard over the low buzz of conversation. “Stop!” He shouted louder, eventually resorting to stamping his feet to get everyone’s attention. It took him a few seconds to realise that was harder than it usually was, because he usually had Castiel with him to command attention.

“Alright everyone… that’s enough. Meet back here after school, see if we can get it right this time. Heaven knows, we need more practice than I thought.” Dean said tiredly, waving everyone off.

Maybe he’d see Castiel in History and ask him to come back for the evening rehearsal. It seemed to go a lot smoother when he was around, and even if it didn’t, getting control of the cast was a lot easier with him around. Dean briefly wondered why he wasn’t there, his absence had been felt quite strongly. He frowned suddenly, wondering if it had been the kiss or his rejection that had made Castiel miss the rehearsal.

Of course it was. It made sense as to why Anna, Castiel’s _sister_ , had been looking at him as if she’d like to stamp on his face with her boots. The realisation slowly smacked Dean in the face and he remembered how cruel he’d been to Castiel the day before. Guilt set in, making his stomach plummet. Maybe Castiel had taken his words to heart. He hadn’t wanted anything to change, they worked well together usually.

Thankfully, they had History last period, so he could catch him then and apologize. He felt a little better when he decided that, and hurried out to the cafeteria.

When the bell rang in History, and Castiel’s seat remained empty, Dean realised exactly what a big mistake he’d made.

 

* * *

The rehearsal that evening went exactly as the lunch rehearsal had, and Dean left with a determination to set things right with Castiel. That had to fix everything, it was all going well until Cas had stopped coming to rehearsals. He just had to work out a way to apologize. The thought prayed on his mind all night, and when he arrived at school the next day, he immediately began looking for Anna.

He didn’t expect to bump into Castiel. Literally.

“Hey, watch- Cas!” He exclaimed, grasping the blue-eyed boy’s shoulders. “Man, am I glad to see you!”

Castiel straightened, stepping back out of Dean’s grasp and looked at him. “Hello, Dean,” he murmured quietly, before continuing past him without another word.

Dean blinked, turning to watch Castiel continue down the hall, feeling something foreign in his chest when Castiel didn’t look back. Swallowing, he decided to try again at lunch.

Each time he tried to speak to Castiel outside of rehearsals, he was met with a brief smile and acknowledgement, but any attempts to speak fell on deaf ears as the costume designer left almost immediately after. Dean didn’t like it, the more it happened, the more hollow his chest felt. When the final bell rang, Dean hoped that Castiel would be at rehearsals.

He was. When he emerged from the curtain, heading for the stalls, Dean felt his heart leap in his chest, but it plummeted when Castiel bypassed the seat next to him and sat on the other side of Chuck. Dean was so taken aback, it took him a couple of seconds to recover enough to call out for the curtain.

“Switch seats with me,” he whispered to Chuck as soon as the play was underway. An unimpressed look was his reply, but Chuck begrudgingly did as he was told. “Cas?”

Castiel turned to look at Dean expressionlessly. “I believe, as the director, you should really be focusing on the musical in front of you.” He turned his attention back to Benny’s rendition of ‘Maria’.

Recognizing the rebuffal for what it was, Dean wasn’t dissuaded from his attempts at setting things right. “Cas, I wanted to apologize for what I said the other day. I just didn’t want things to change with us, you know?”

For a long moment, Castiel was silent, and Dean wasn’t sure he was going to reply. When Castiel sighed, he was filled with hope that maybe they could put everything behind them and get back to normal.

“Things haven’t changed, Dean. You and I weren’t friends before, I recognize that now. It’s you who is attempting to change things, by striking up a conversation in the hall, or the cafeteria. We never did that before. Perhaps you should leave me be, and then we can get back to the … _normality_ that you obviously desire.”

Before Dean could reply, Castiel got up, leaving the stalls and heading backstage. Disheartened, Dean slumped forward in his seat, trying not to despair when Meg Masters forgot the lyrics to ‘America’.

“Alright, stop!” Dean bellowed, standing up, making everyone freeze, including Castiel, who had his hand on the curtain. “This is the final dress rehearsal. Opening night is _tomorrow_. I can’t threaten to recast you all at this late stage but I promise you this: we are not leaving here tonight until we’ve had a perfect run-through. If that doesn’t happen, I’ll cancel the goddamn performance, are we clear? From the top. Now.” He ordered, feeling a small amount of satisfaction when everyone scurried to their original positions.

Still, watching Castiel disappear through the curtain did nothing to stop the sudden aching in Dean’s chest.

 

* * *

Fifteen minutes to curtain, on opening night.

Dean was starting to hyperventilate, running around backstage to see to every single problem that seemed to have occurred all at once. The final straw was when Charlie stumbled over Meg’s foot and tore the seam in her dress.

“Shit!” Dean swore, grabbing her arm and weaving her back through to the costume department. He burst through the door unceremoniously, startling Castiel, who looked in dismay at the ripped dress. To his credit, he didn’t hesitate for a second, picking up a needle and thread and dropping to his knees.

“Can you fix it?” Dean asked desperately.

Castiel didn’t even spare him a look. “Of course I can fix it. How long do I have?” He muttered, his fingers threading the needle expertly.

“Less than ten until the curtain goes up.”

Snorting, Castiel nodded. “I’ll have her back with plenty of time to spare.  You won’t even notice the stitching. Go and see to the others, I’m pretty sure I can hear panicking.”

Dean hesitated, because this was the first time he’d felt at ease around Castiel since the kiss. “Cas…” he began.

“Go, Dean,” Castiel snapped.

The director took a few steps towards the door, before he stopped abruptly, turning back. “Where are you watching the play from?”

Castiel’s hand stilled. “I hadn’t planned to watch it, I assumed I would stay back here for costume changes.”

“Fuck that. You’ve practically co-directed the damn thing with me. You can watch from the wings with me. It isn’t up for debate, Cas,” Dean added, cutting off any attempts at protest. “Come find me at curtain up, or I’ll come back and get you.”

He left, heading back to the wings to help with any last minute direction. Dean was calm and collected as he dealt with a sudden case of stage-fright, making sure the prompters were in place, and that everyone was where they should be. He had no idea where the confidence came from, only that he wasn’t questioning it.

He felt even better when Castiel arrived, hanging back just to the left of his shoulder.

“Here, c’mere,” Dean muttered, taking a couple of steps to the right and letting Castiel move forward. Slowly, over the course of the first act, he moved closer, eventually pressing their shoulders together. He knew what a mistake he’d made now, and was trying to put it right.

Castiel stiffened. “What are you doing, Dean?”

“Cas… I made a mistake the other day,” Dean said quietly, turning to look at him. “I don’t want things to go back to normal with us. They probably can’t. We kissed, and I was wrong to think that it changed nothing, because it changed everything.”

Beside him, Castiel’s whole body was tense, his eyes pointed looking at the stage and not at Dean. The director wasn’t sure that was a good sign or not, and it was impossible to read Castiel’s expression, shrouded in darkness as they were.

“I shouldn’t have taken such liberties,” Castiel muttered eventually. “I shouldn’t have presume you’d want to date me just because you kissed me back. _Why did you kiss me back_?” He asked desperately, abruptly turning to Dean.

Dean swallowed. “I… I was caught up in the moment.”

He hastened to correct himself when Castiel’s shoulders slumped. “No, wait! That’s what I thought it was, but I was wrong, Cas. Things haven’t been right since then, and I don’t mean with this fucking stupid musical, although let me tell you that was no picnic. I… I’ve missed you,” he admitted quietly, reaching out to take Castiel’s hand, threading their fingers together. “So about that movie… if you were still interested…”

Castiel moved instantly, pulling Dean in for another kiss, pinning him against one of the old beams. Laughing into the kiss, Dean responded immediately, his free hand wrapping around Castiel’s waist and bringing him in close, feeling the ache in his chest subside and morph into a fluttering sensation. Pulling back, he grinned at Castiel and then leaned in to kiss him again and again.

 

* * *

The opening night was a huge success.

The cheers and applause seemed to go on forever, and backstage everyone was cheering and hugging and crying, unable to believe things had gone so perfectly.

In one corner, Dean and Castiel were huddled together, the dark-haired boy’s head resting on Dean’s shoulder, an arm around his waist. West Side Story was the last thing on Dean’s mind at that moment. He was glad it was a success. But he’d gotten something much better than praise out of it.

Turning to kiss the top of Castiel’s head, Dean closed his eyes. This was the best result he could have hoped for.

**Author's Note:**

> [MY TUMBLR](http://blueeyedangel.co.vu)


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